St Marys District School
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13 Gray Road
St Marys TAS 7215
Subscribe: https://stmarysdistricts.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

st.marys.district.school@education.tas.gov.au
Phone: 03 6372 3900

3 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

GRADE 6 ART WORK

Grade 6 Art on Display at The University of Tasmania last month. Thank you Mrs Lewis.

School Calendar

Sync Calendar

School Calendar

Term 4 Commences

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

Pre Kinder Group 1 9-10am

All day

Grade 3 Sleepover

16 Oct 2025 - 17 Oct 2025

TasBGas Construction Skill Set Student interviews - Ref Tanya time tbc

All day

Construction Skill-Set Interviews

All day

HoL PL - KG, WI

All day

Kinder Excursion- St Marys Town Hall Children's Week

All day

Pre Kinder Group 2 9-10am

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

NC/LC Enrolment Interviews

All day

Grade 9 Camp - CYC Blue Lagoon

27 Oct 2025 - 29 Oct 2025

Immunisation Catchups - if required

All day

Grade 5 Camp Rostrevor

29 Oct 2025 - 30 Oct 2025

LIL 10.30-11.30 St Marys Hall

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

Transition visit 4 BPS Y6 to SMDS - OPTIONS Day

All day

World Teachers' Day 2025

All day

Student Free Day - Professional Learning

All day

Recreation Day (Northern Tas only)

All day

HoL Pyegana Dairy Co

All day

'Knock Knock' Performance K-4 PAC

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

Kinder Excursion Serpentarium

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 PAC

All day

Sporting Schools Surf Groms Gr 5/6

All day

Secondary Athletics Carnival

All day

PAC/Common Room closed for Student Exhibition Set Up

07 Nov 2025 - 14 Nov 2025

RYDA (Simmons Plains)

All day

National Theatre Company Water Literacy Performance 3-6 2.15pm

All day

National Theatre Company Water Literacy Performance K-2 1.30

All day

2025 Student Exhibition

All day

Year 11/12 EOY Lunch @TBC

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

Inter-High Athletics @ St Leonards

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

Recurring event

SCIENCE WEEK

Grade 6 students share some fun with the Kinder and Grade 1-2

Science fun
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Science fun
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PRINCIPALS REPORT

Welcome back to a busy Term 4!

Due to our impeding building works, Administration services have been fully relocated to the Library, with access to the administration area via the rear door of the library.

Administration services have been fully relocated to the Library, with access to the administration area via the rear door of the library.

Over the coming weeks, support services such as Guidance and Social Work offices will be relocated. The School Psychologist and Speech Pathologist will be relocated to an office in the Primary Block and the Social Worker will be relocated to an office in the Home Economics block. Please continue to sign in at the relocated administration office and our staff will show you to the new support services areas.

Rehearsals for Arts on Tour are underway, with the committed cast coming in on the student free day for practice. “Alice” will be performed to the St Marys Community at 7.00pm on Thursday 23rd November in the St Marys School Hall. The main foyer doors will be accessible for patrons for this performance.

On Tuesday 7th November, our Secondary Athletics Carnival will take place. Students are encouraged to wear their house colours and join in the activities that Mr Jordan King and our staff have prepared for them. Selections will be made at our Athletics Carnival for the Inter High Athletics team. The Inter High Carnival will be held on Tuesday 21st November, at St Leonards.

Our Primary Swimming Carnival will be held on Wednesday 8th November in the School Pool. Selections for the East North East Swimming Carnival will be made at this Carnival. The ENE Swimming Carnival will be held on Thursday 16th November.

Parents and community members are invited to attend the athletics and swimming carnivals.

A group of very excited pre-kinder students have been participating in our Kinder Orientation Program in order to prepare them for Kindergarten next year, with support from our hard working Kinder team headed by Mrs Rebecca Hibberd. More information on how to support your child’s transition into Kinder can be found on the Department of Education’s website via the link below:

https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/kindergarten-tasmanian-government-schools/

More information can be found at the Great Start Early Years web portal.

Finally, tenders have gone out for our Capital Works Program and a site meeting for interested contractors was held last week. We anticipate having a construction start date very soon. Our architects at 6tyo have provided us with some 3D conceptual plans for Stage 1 – Administration and Performing Arts Centre, which I have included below.

We have some very busy and exciting times ahead.

As a timely reminder and in light of the early start of the bushfire season, please be advised that both campuses of St Marys District School are registered as Bushfire Ready Schools. Please read the information below to gain an understanding of what this means for our staff, students and the school community.

The Department of Education (the Department) is concerned to maximise the safety of its students and staff. St Marys District School – St Marys & Fingal Campus has been added to the Bushfire Ready Register. Inclusion on this register means that the school may be required to invoke a closure/relocation on a day where a Severe or above Fire Danger Rating (FDR) has been declared for St Marys / Fingal At these ratings, it means that if a fire starts, it may become uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving.

When given advance warning by TFS that a Severe FDR has been forecast for a given day, the Principal may direct the pre-emptive closure/relocation of St Marys District School. Once the decision is taken, you will be informed of the possible planned closure/relocation by a letter sent home with your child. Parents of students absent on the day this letter is sent home will be contacted by telephone, so please ensure the school has up to date contact details for you.

In the intervening period between the declaration of the pre-emptive closure/relocation and the day of planned closure/relocation, DoE Facility Services staff will monitor weather patterns to stay informed of any change to the forecast for the declared day. The final decision to pre-emptively close/relocate the school will be confirmed by the Principal with the Department no later than 1.30 pm on the day before the declared day. If the forecast changes after that deadline, the closure/relocation will stand, regardless of improvements to the weather conditions later in the afternoon of the day before the declared day or overnight. The intention is to limit confusion or uncertainty for parents and to allow you ample time to make alternative child care arrangements.

Parents will be advised of the confirmation of closure/relocation, or its reversal, by a note sent home with your child on the day before the planned closure/relocation. Again, parents of students absent on this day will be contacted by telephone.

It is anticipated that the school will only be required to close for a single day at a time, but this will depend on the weather. You will receive an SMS / FlexiBuzz notification to advise you whether the school will reopen the day after the planned closure/relocation, or whether it will remain closed. The school website and Facebook page will contain a notice to advise you of the current status of the school closure/relocation and when it is expected to reopen.

I ask that you monitor local media for current information about fire danger ratings and notification of schools reopening. Staying tuned to ABC Local Radio in your locality is advisable. You can also check with TFS on 1800 000 699 or www.tas.fire.gov.au. If any of the options listed above for finding out when to send your child back to school will prove problematic, please contact the school to arrange for us to phone you to advise you when the school will reopen.

Please contact the school on 63723900 if you have any questions about planned closures/relocation during the bushfire season.

What else can you do?

  • Ensure the school has your current contact details;
  • Review and update your family bushfire survival plan;
  • Keep in touch with your school;
  • Familiarise yourself with other bushfire information such as Community Protection Planning for your area, which identify Nearby Safer Places, available through TFS at: www.fire.tas.gov.au/Show?pageId=colCommunityProtection
  • Know your emergency broadcaster; and
  • Refer to the TFS website www.fire.tas.gov.au

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

In Health and Physical Education during Term 3, all Grade 9 and 10 students have been engaging in a very comprehensive learning programme about emergency care and first aid. We are finalising this unit of work with the practical application of DRSABCD with learning how to perform CPR on a casualty. Adult and infant mannequins have been used. Students have been learning about pistol grip, head tilt, open airway, chest depth, ratio 2 breaths to 30 compressions, recovery positions and the 4 A’s of awareness – Awareness, Assess, Action and Aftercare.

KB PHOTOS
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KB PHOTOS
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SCHOOL FARM

Work is to start soon on converting the old dairy into a broiler (chicken) raising facility. The conversion will come from a grant that we secured earlier in the year. Three grant applications were successful to allow us to upgrade the dairy and the piggery and provide materials for extra fencing. This has also included weighing facilities for the pigs (and other stock) and providing effluent treatment for the piggery.

One of the grants included installing heat beds for the current hot house allowing a more consistent temperature over the winter months for our plants and seedlings. The shed where the school bus was parked has been has been converted into a new hothouse. This will allow us to expand our horticultural experiences for the students.

We are currently thinking of starting a new sheep flock that will concentrate on either Southdown or Corriedale breeds. Having a pure line of meat or wool sheep could enable the students to enter competitions at local shows such as the Campbell Town Show.

Next year we will be buying more piglets and some goats for meat production. We may even buy a small number of cows.

Vegetable and egg sales will continue from the new office area now located in the library, so please support the school farm by making purchases of fresh produce.

Bill, Mandy and Craig

SCIENCE – GRADE 3/4 COOKE

Grade3/4 Cooke had a focus week on Science. They observed and recorded reactions of substances with alka seltzer. They learnt about different forms of energy, focusing on wind energy and made their own wind turbines.

Students worked co-operatively to create a Ping Pong Run using straws and glue guns involving lots of mathematical thinking and trial and error.

Science Grade 3-4
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Science Grade 3-4
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MERIT CERTIFICATE WINNERS FROM PRIMARY ASSEMBLY IN AUGUST

GRADE 1-2 CERTIFICATE WINNERS

Grade 1-2 awards
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Grade 1-2 awards
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Grade 2-3 Certificate Winners

Grade 3-4 Certificate Winners

Grade 4-5 Certificate Winners

Grade 4-5 awards
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Grade 4-5 awards
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Grade 6 Certificate Winners

FOR SALE

SECOND HAND SCHOOL UNIFORM CLOTHING ITEMS – AVAILABLE FROM THE SCHOOL OFFICE - CASH ONLY

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